The UNGrateful Dead
by rockangel160
Summary: WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR NEW LEGACY OF THE FORCE BOOK! Mara Jade wakes up one day to find herself in an unfamiliar world. In this new place, she meets new people who are related to her husband. People she thought were long gone. Is this real or a dream
1. Chapter 1

A/N: First of all, this is just something I made for fun. I read spoilers on Wookiepedia (the Star Wars Wikipedia) to tell me the ending to the new _Legacy of the Force_ novel, _Sacrifice._ Mara Jade didn't let her body become one with the force because she wanted to leave behind evidence that her nephew killed her and so her family could say goodbye to something. So basically, now she's a regular spirit with the other regular spirits.

Mara Jade woke up in the middle of some street in the middle of- actually, she had no idea where she was. She suddenly saw a speeder headed toward her, so she jumped out of the way onto the sidewalk. She looked at herself, and realized she was young again! She looked around to see a bunch of people just walking casually on the sidewalk. Where was she? Was this a dream? What happened? She just followed the crowd to something that might help her. Suddenly, a figure with a cloak tapped her on the shoulder.

"Mara Jade Skywalker?" it asked her.

"Hmm?" she mumbled in a confused tone.

"Report to this facility." The person instructed her as he handed her a card with an address on it.

"What for?" she asked, but when she looked up from the card he was gone! She figured this would help her out, so she just traveled to this place she needed to go to. She walked around until she found this never-ending neighborhood of tall buildings. Every building was unique, so no two looked alike. She finally found the one she was looking for. The paint job was pretty weird. The building was colored baby blue on one side, but blood red on the other. She saw a billboard near the door; she was perplexed on what it read though: NEW ARRIVAL- MARA JADE SKYWALKER

She walked in and asked the clerk where she needed to go. He instructed her to go to room #34 on level 3. She walked into the elevator and pressed the third button. When she got to that floor, room #34 was wide open. She walked in to see a just a plain room with two beds in it. She just walked around when all of a sudden she heard a voice from outside the door.

"New girl?! Since when do we have a new girl? Why do I have to bunk with her? Well, who is she anyway? What happened to her? Fine, fine, I'll talk to her myself." A woman said.

That woman who was talking walked in to find Mara Jade who just froze in confusion.

"So, you must be that new girl." The woman asked. She wore just a plain white gown. It was much unlike the combat suit Mara Jade was wearing.

"Uhhh, I…guess." Mara Jade stuttered.

"So, how did you get here?" the woman asked.

"I don't really know, I don't remember." Mara replied. The woman rolled her eyes and replied,

"Oh no, this going to be hard. Alright, what is the last thing you remember doing?"

Mara thought hard for a moment until something came to her, "Well, I was fighting my nephew, then all of a sudden, I saw my son, and then I felt an intense pain in my thigh, then I… ah, man. Am I …dead?"

"Bingo." The mysterious woman replied.

"Aw, crud! C'mon! That's completely cheap! I practically demolish him in that duel, and he kills me with a little poison dart? I can't believe it." Mara screamed as she stomped around the room.

"Hah, you think that's bad? The living realm thinks I died of a "broken heart" when my uterus clearly ruptured." The woman replied.

"Eww… that's a little too much information." Mara turned away in disgust.

"Sorry. What also stinks is that Luke and Leia hardly know who I am!" the woman complained.

"Wait; did you say Luke and Leia? Luke Skywalker and Leia Solo?" Mara questioned.

"Yup." The woman answered.

"How long have you known them?" Mara asked.

"Oh, let's just say their whole lives." The woman responded. Mara thought about who this woman could possibly be. This woman hadn't told Mara her name. Oh, and she forgot to tell the woman her own, too.

"I'm sorry, I've forgotten my manners. I'm Mara Jade Skywalker, Luke Skywalker's wife." She held out her hand. The woman reached out to shake Mara's hand as she introduced herself,

"Padme Amidala Skywalker, Luke Skywalker's mother."


	2. Chapter 2 The Milky Way and the Rules

"So you're, like, my mother in law?" Mara asked after her shock was over.

"Yeah." Padme responded.

"Oh my gosh, I have, like, a million questions to ask you!" Mara said like an anxious teenager. She had barely ever heard of Luke's mom. Man, Luke didn't even know about her.

"Luke and I at first didn't know anything about you, but then it turns out R2D2 kept some old recordings of you and…" Mara said at a fast pace.

"So, old R2 finally spilled the beans? Hah, I'm surprised he waited this long. Now about earlier, you said you were fighting your _nephew_?" Padme interrupted.

"Yeah, something's wrong with Jacen's head…Wait, you don't know? Can't you see what goes on in the living world?" Mara asked, for she was confused again.

"Nope, only Force ghosts can do that. Regular souls have to stay here and hope for the best." Padme said

"Oh, well that stinks. And to think I could have been a force ghost, too!" Mara whined.

"Oh, don't worry. You can still see what's going on if a force ghost takes you with them." Padme said to comfort her.

"Then, when was the last time you went? I know some of your friends here are force sensitive. What about Ben and Anakin and the _older _Anakin… hey, where are they? Are they here?" Mara got up as if she was going to look for them.

"Well, force ghosts don't really stay in one place. They go out and have fun in the living realm for hours and hardly ever come back here. It's pretty tough to catch them at a good time. My husband spends all night in the living realm with his friends! The last time he took me with him was a decade ago, to see my grandchildren." Padme explained.

"Well do they come here? They have to sleep eventually. Hey, where is _here_ exactly?" Mara asked. Her questions were endless.

"This is the Skywalker Retreat. Where all members of the Skywalker family live after they die. And, yes, the force sensitive members of our family come here when they feel like it." Padme explained.

"Well, what about Anakin…Anakin _Solo, _your grandson His last name isn't Skywalker, but he's still part of the family." Mara questioned.

"Actually he lives in the _Solo_ Retreat across the street. He comes to visit every now and then. However, his 16 year old soul likes to wander around like his grandfather." Padme answered.

"Wait, he's the same age as when he died? But, I was 58, and now I look like I'm 25 again, but I'm wearing the same thing as when I died. How does the appearance work here anyway?" Mara continued to question.

Padme answered, "Your age is one of youth, but your clothes are what you wore when you died. I know, it's pretty weird, but I don't make the rules. That's why I'm stuck with this stupid hospital gown for the rest of eternity! However, those rules do not apply to…"

"Force ghosts." Mara completed her sentence. She was catching on, and she almost regretted leaving her body behind.

"Exactly, so basically force ghosts rule, and regular ones suck." Padme said in a depressed tone. She laid her head on her pillow.

"C'mon, now. It can't be all bad. We still get to do something, right?" Mara said trying to comfort her mother in law. Padme got up again and sighed.

"Well, we do get to do whatever we want in the realm of the dead. We can go shopping, watch holovideos, and basically enjoy ourselves. Yeah, I guess it's not all bad. It's a LOT easier than life as a senator was. Oh, the war would kill me, and there were the scandals, and paparazzi. Life- I mean death, is pretty much easier now." Padme started to feel better.

"There's so much I want to know about you! I know it may be a lot, but, would you mind explaining your life's story to me?" Mara pleaded of her. She wanted to know everything about her husband's mother. Padme made a big sigh; this was going to take a while. Unless. There was an easier way to tell her life's story. Then, it hit her.

"I have a better idea. C'mon." Padme said as she perked her head up. She grabbed Mara's hand and ran out of the building, and headed for the bus stop.

"Where are we going?" asked Mara.

"You'll see." Padme answered.

Then, a huge astro-bus pulled up in front of them. Mara and Padme got the two front seats on the bus. After all the passengers got on, the bus sped forward at the speed of light! Mara watched as hundreds of galaxies passed before her eyes. She wondered where Padme was taking her. She had never been this far into the universe. Even at this speed, it took an hour before it got to their stop.

"Milky Way Galaxy? Anyone for the Milky Way Galaxy?" The bus driver called.

"That's us! C'mon." Padme jumped out of her seat with Mara following.

They stepped out of the bus onto some concrete pavement. Everything was different here. The architecture and technology was completely different, and a little primitive in their opinion.

"Where are we?" Mara asked.

"In the Milky Way, the humans call the afterlife heaven or hell. Heaven if you're good, hell if you're evil. Actually, the afterlife system works differently depending on your religion. There are three main religions here: Christianity, Judaism, and Islamic. Explaining them all would take too long. Now, let's go." Padme explained.

They walked around until Padme found what she was looking for. They walked up to a tall building.

"Ah, here we are!" Padme said.

"Borders? What is this place?" Mara said confused.

"It's a place where they sell holovideos, music, and books. Actually, holovideos are called DVDs, and they come in thin round discs." Padme explained. They walked into the large building and headed over to the movie section. Padme stopped to search through the "S" section.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Mara scratched her head at this new place.

"Found them!" Padme exclaimed. She held up six DVDs. Their titles were:

Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace

Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones

Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith

Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope

Star Wars: Episode V-The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars: Episode VI-Return of the Jedi

Padme purchased the entire saga, and they left the building. They also got a knapsack to keep them all in. When they got back on the bus, Mara examined the DVDs closer.

"Hey that's you! And there's Luke, Leia, and Han! And there's Vader and the Emperor!" Mara pointed out.

"Exactly, it's our story on DVD." Padme said.

"How do they know about you?" asked Mara.

"Beats me. They know about you, too. They just didn't make a movie about it. You're in a series of novels" Padme explained. When they got home, they rushed up to their room to watch their movies. Padme took out a small packet of something into a microwave she kept in her room.

"Wow, I didn't notice this stuff earlier." Mara said as she looked at Padme's Earth goods. Padme had a microwave, fridge, DVD player, and plasma-screen TV.

"Yeah, every time I go to the Milky Way, I like to bring something back. That TV shows a much better picture than a hologram. And this popcorn isn't anything you can get in this galaxy." Padme said.

"Popcorn? What's popcorn?" Mara had never heard of it. Padme pulled out the popcorn from the microwave.

"Here, taste it. It's what Earthlings eat whenever they watch a movie." Padme held out the bowl for Mara to take a piece. Mara wasn't big on trying new foods, but this looked appetizing. She put it in her mouth, and nodded in approval.

"It's pretty good." Mara smiled at this new food. Padme walked over to the DVD player and placed the first DVD in the slot.

"Now sit back and relax, because it's going to be a long night." Padme sat back on the floor as the movie started.


	3. Chapter 3 The Past

Mara Jade and her mother in law, Padme, were sitting on the floor for their movie night. Padme didn't feel like telling her entire past, so she just decided to show it. Mara was very interested in this; she couldn't keep her eyes off the TV. They started with The Phantom Menace. Mara giggled as she told Padme,

"Oh my god, I can't believe you wore your makeup like that! It's kinda scary!"

"Shut up. It was a tradition." Padme shot back.

Soon, the Jedi knights came on screen, and Mara stared at one like she'd seen him before. Then, the older Jedi called out the younger Jedi's name.

"Obi-Wan? Wait a minute, that's Ben? That's the one Luke named our kid after." Mara commented.

Padme rolled her eyes. Mara already became more talkative than C-3PO in one minute. Then, a hologram of a man in a cloak was shown. That projector on screen was a little fuzzy, so Mara couldn't point out exactly who it was, but it reminded her of someone. She sat there quietly until the gang landed on Tatooine. She couldn't believe the first thing that little slave said to Padme.

"Are you an angel? Oh my god that's hilarious! I bet that guy wants to smack himself everyday for screwing up like that." Mara chuckled.

"Oh, don't be so sure." Padme said slyly. They waited until the little boy's name was revealed.

"Anakin Skywalker? VADER?! I think I'm going to explode from laughter!" Mara commented.

There were certain moments when Mara would just burst out with comments. Padme didn't blame her. This was all true, not fiction. She had a right to be surprised or amazed.

"So a ten-year old kid blew up the entire Droid Control Ship? I can't believe it."

"Those weird looking gungans actually helped you?"

"Whoa, that sith right there really gives me the willies."

"No! Not Qui-Gon!" Mara just went on and on, but at least she was getting answers. Then after Episode I had finished Padme put in Episode II. Then Mara started all over again.

"You know, Anakin changed a lot, but you hardly changed at all." Mara pointed out.

"I know, that's why his new appearance really blew me away." Padme returned.

"Man, I can't believe so many people were out to kill you." Mara said.

"Yeah, I bet they were all pretty upset when none of them were responsible for my death." Padme said. Mara felt a sense of satisfaction that all the questions she had ever had about her in laws were finally being answered. She still had many more questions though; ones that would be answered soon. They got to the scene where Padme and Anakin realized they shouldn't be together.

"Pfft. You might have convinced him to stop if you didn't dress like THAT." Mara said.

"It's not my fault. R2 accidentally spilled oil on all my other clothes. At least he claimed he was an accident." Padme responded. They watch quietly for a while until the Battle of Geonosis.

_I thought we agreed not to fall in love; that it would destroy us._

_I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway._

"Awww, that so sweet!" Mara said at the line. Padme just chuckled at her. Mara was amazed by the actual battle. It was like almost every Skywalker, by blood or marriage, knew how to fight. After Episode II, Episode III was next; the darkest of all six. Padme kept a box of tissues near by because Mara would need them. As she watched Anakin turn to the dark side, she felt a connection to Padme. They had both watched someone they care about turn to the dark side, and failed to help them. Mara remembered one of the last things she said to her nephew, Jacen.

_You're as vile as he was._

She was referring to the Emperor, and right now she couldn't believe the taunting he was giving Anakin right now. Turn to the dark side, or your wife and child will die. The most irritating part was how Palpatine was blaming the Jedi for everything. Right now, she couldn't believe she had once aided this monster. As she watched the slaughter of the younglings, she reached for those tissues Padme had. Mara wasn't one who liked to cry often, but she realized it was okay now since she was only with her family. She reached for more tissues as she watched the woman next to her right now being choked on the screen.

"I can't believe BFFFFT he'd do that to you!" Mara said as she blew her nose.

"Imagine MY shock at the time." Padme replied.

Mara looked away for a moment as she watched Anakin burn to a crisp. After that, she witnessed the birth of her own husband and friend.

"Why is it that only Leia remembers you?" Mara asked.

"I have NO idea! And to think Luke is technically older. I brushed his forehead, too. Yet, he still never remembered me." Padme said. She sounded a little upset, but it passed quickly.

Now it was time to watch the original trilogy. Mara stay quiet through most of those films, for it was a story she had already heard, but just never watched. She only gave out one loud comment, when Leia kissed Luke in Episode V.

"EEWWW! Gross. At times like this, I wish Ben had told them sooner." Mara squealed.

"Me too, Mara. Me too." Padme said. Also, Mara noticed one other thing. She looked closely at Jabba's palace, and she saw… herself!

"Hey, that's me!" Mara said enthusiastically.

"What? Where?" Padme jumped up surprised. Finally, she was asking the questions.

"Right there! The one with black hair!" Mara pointed to the screen.

"What the heck were YOU doing there?!" Padme asked.

"Um… that's a funny story, actually. You see, I was there to kill Luke." Mara stuttered.

"WHAT?! Why?" Padme was both shocked and confused.

"The Emperor told me to." Mara said a little ashamed.

"You listened to the Emperor?!" Padme shouted.

"I used to work for him! Before I realized how evil he was." Mara explained. Padme calmed down. Almost everyone in the Skywalker had been a fool to the Emperor at one point. This merely proved that Mara Jade was one of them. She even laughed at the idea that Mara ended up marrying the person she had originally wanted to kill. They used up that entire day to explain the story of the Skywalker family. Mara was tired, and decided to get some rest. She got on her bed in the room they shared, and got some much deserved sleep.

The next morning, she woke up to find Padme already out of bed. Mara got out of bed and went to the kitchen which was located back on the first floor. She walked in to find Padme reading a magazine, and another woman cooking breakfast. Mara looked closely at this other woman. She finally realized it was Anakin Skywalker's mother, Shmi!

"Hey, Padme. Hi, you must be Shmi." Mara greeted the room. Padme said hey back and looked back into her magazine as Shmi walked over to greet the newest tenant.

"Welcome, Mara. Padme told me about your movie day. So, now you know everything you need to know about the Skywalker family. Would you like some breakfast?" Shmi said.

"Thank you, Shmi. That would be lovely." Mara replied as she sat down and read a magazine in the pile on the table.

Suddenly, the door burst opened, and a young man walked into the room. Mara jaw dropped when she saw who it was. It was her father-in-law, Anakin Skywalker.


	4. Chapter 4 New and Old Friends

"Well, it's about time you stopped by! Where have you been?!" Padme stomped over to her husband and interrogated him.

"Padme, relax. I was just visiting the same old sites with the guys. I would have been home sooner, but you know what party animals the Jedi council members are. We had to stuff a sock in Master Yoda's mouth to keep him from having another drink." Anakin said casually.

Shmi took a second away from the stove to talk to her son, "Annie, sweetie, if you keep going out this long, you'll miss a lot of important things. Look, here! You haven't been around to welcome our newest tenant, Mara!" Anakin turned to face his daughter-in-law, who was still in complete awe.

"Well, welcome to the land of the dead, Mara. I'm Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, but I'm finished with that part of my life." Anakin greeted Mara.

"Oh, she knows Anakin. We watched those Milky Way Galaxy movies yesterday. She knows about all of us." Padme explained to him.

"Oh, that's good. Um, Mara, I wasn't exactly in your part of the galaxy for the past week. So, if you don't mind, could you tell me how you exactly…got here?" Anakin asked, knowing it just might me a painful subject for her. Mara lowered her head, as Shmi and Padme rolled their eyes. Mara was taking a while to answer.

"Well, if you must know, your grandson killed her! Leia's oldest son, Jacen, apparently has a new nickname, Darth Caedus! Isn't it funny how the sith lord gene runs in the family?!" Padme exploded sensing how Mara was pained, even though she didn't like to show it.

"Well, sheesh! I was just asking! And another thing; I didn't TELL him to join the dark side. He'll figure it out in his own sweet time." Anakin responded.

"Well, maybe by that time, he'll fill up both the Skywalker AND Solo Retreats!" Padme shot back.

"Look, don't fight you two. You two both know fighting and arguing has never solved anything." Shmi intervened. Anakin and Padme cooled down. Then, a sixteen year old boy came through the front door.

"Hey Grandpa, what's with all the ruckus?" He said. Mara rushed over to hug the boy. She hadn't seen Anakin Solo in over a decade.

"Anakin! Oh, I've missed you so much!" Mara exclaimed.

"Aunt Mara, It's so good to see you, here. Well, not _here._ I mean seeing you in person knowing that _you _know you can see me, or, err you know what I mean." He stuttered.

"Awww well isn't that sweet. Well, let's have some breakfast then shall we?" Interrupted the older Anakin. Everyone sat down around the table for the breakfast Shmi made. Everyone talked about stuff each person missed out on, and so on and so on. Pretty soon, one name was brought up that made every member of the Skywalker (and Solo) family's blood boil. Emperor Palpatine, the center of all evil. This brought Mara to wonder something.

"Um, where exactly does Palpatine live, anyway? This is where ALL dead people come, good or bad, right?" She asked. Everyone looked at each other for a moment. Finally, Anakin (Skywalker) answered her question.

"Yeah, actually he lives in a big black house a few blocks from here. He doesn't have much of a family, so he pretty much lives by himself. He hardly ever comes out of there." He said.

"Hey, how about we give him a reason to come out of there?" Anakin (Solo) said sinisterly. Everyone looked confused; they didn't know where he was going with this.

"I'm saying we should have a little fun over there. You know, like a classic wrapping or egging." He filled them in.

"Ah, that's my grandson. Always working up a little fun to brighten the day." His grandfather ruffled his hair as he laughed.

"Well, I guess it could be fun. I'm in." Mara said chuckling. Padme just sat there with her arms crossed.

"Well, I think it's very immature." Padme said

"Aw, c'mon honey, does maturity matter when you're dead? Besides, you hate this guy too. We're not going to hurt him; we're just gonna have a little fun." Anakin encouraged her. Padme sat there thinking for a moment.

"Okay, I'm in too." She reluctantly gave in.

"What about you, Mom?" Older Anakin asked.

"Oh no, not me. I'm not into that kind of stuff. Go on without me." Shmi said.

That night the family (excluding Shmi) gathered all the toilet paper and eggs they could find. They all snuck out to Palpatine's house a few blocks away. The mood of the house was so dark, just looking at it made your bones shiver. They hid behind a large black bush in the front yard. They saw Palpatine sitting in his chair in the dark reading a book. How could he read in the dark?

"You first, Mrs. Skywalker?" Mara said majestically handing a roll of toilet paper to Padme.

"After you, Mrs. Skywalker." Padme said handing Mara back the toilet paper. Mara crept up to the house, and threw the paper up into the air over the house.

"Nice one." Padme commented as she threw another roll over the house. The whole family giggled as the tossed all the paper they could over the house and into the trees without Palpatine noticing. Then came the good part; the egging.

"YEAH! WHO'S GOT THE UNLIMITED POWER NOW?!" Anakin (guess) shouted as each member threw the eggs like thermal detonators.

Finally, Palpatine got out of his seat and looked out to the window to find a group of Skywalkers vandalizing his house.

"Stupid Skywalkers." He muttered to himself. As soon as the family saw his face in the window, they ran back to their house. They rushed through the front door laughing uncontrollably.

"I've never had that much fun in my life!" Padme said through her laughter.

"See? You just have to learn to let it all out." Her husband told her through his laughter.

After the wrapping, everyone was exhausted and decided to go to bed. Today was especially eventful for Mara. She got to meet her father in law, and she was reunited with her nephew. Plus, she got to show her old master a piece of her mind. She just hoped Palpatine didn't have any plan for them.


	5. Chapter 5 Visiting the Living

It had been about a week since Mara came to the Skywalker Retreats. It had been fun and she got to meet a lot of new people, but she felt empty every morning she woke up to find her husband not next to her. She was sure Luke felt the same way. One morning, she walked into the family dining room. She sat down to eat some breakfast, and Anakin's datapad suddenly started vibrate from his robe pocket. He picked it up, and Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared on the screen.

"Hey Anakin! Where have you been, man?" Obi-Wan said in a laid-back tone.

"Hey Obi-Wan. I was just spending time with the family." Anakin answered back.

"Well, get over here. We're gonna go scare people in the living realm!" Obi-Wan said excited. Mara's head perked up. She could tag along and see her friends and family.

"Alright, I'll be right there." Anakin said as the transmission ended. He started to walk out the door before Mara stopped him.

"Wait! Anakin! Can I come with you?!" She pleaded. Anakin stopped in his tracks and spun around.

"Well, I don't know. Obi-Wan's speeder is pretty cramped." Anakin mumbled.

"Please? Pretty please? I just want to see my, I mean, our family." She begged.

"Alright, fine. You guys wanna go, too?" He looked up at Shmi and Padme. They looked at each other and shrugged.

"Sure, we'll go." Padme said.

They picked up Anakin Solo from across the street and headed over to Obi-Wan's. Mara Jade had never met Obi-Wan before. Days ago, she found out he was Anakin's best friend, and he had watched over Luke while he was on Tatooine. Luke would talk about him all the time and she used to wonder about this "Ben" all the time. She realized he must be very special to Luke, so she agreed to name their kid after him. They got to the place, and Obi-Wan ran out and gave Anakin a slap on the back.

"Hey buddy! Why didn't tell me you were bringing company? I would've packed more stink bombs." Obi-Wan said playfully.

"Hey Negotiator. They tagged along at the last minute." Anakin greeted his friend. Obi-Wan looked behind Anakin to see the group was larger than usual.

"Hello, what's this we have here? A newcomer? Hey, Chosen One, who's the redhead?" Obi-Wan asked.

"I'm Mara Jade. I'm Anakin's daughter-in-law." She stepped forward and introduced herself.

"I see. Well, it looks like Luke got himself a good catch." Obi-Wan commented.

"So you're "wise, old Ben." My husband's talked a lot about you. You know we have a son named after you. Actually, his name is Ben, your Tatooine alias." Mara said.

"Awww, well that was sweet of you guys. C'mon! Let's go before all the other ghost scare the living before us." Obi-Wan said.

Everyone climbed into Obi-Wan's speeder as he turned on the ignition. The speeder rushed forward at first, but then turned vertically toward the sky. Mara had been wondering how ghosts got to the other realm for the past week. She saw a purple dot as they continued to escalate. As they got closer, she realized the purple dot was a spiral spinning around. As they passed through it, she realized it was a portal. They traveled through a long colorful tunnel through time and space. It was almost like something out of a dream. Soon, the speeder landed right in the middle of an abandoned alley. Mara's felt like she was going to be sick from that wild ride. They walked out of the alley to find a bunch of people just passing by them without a glance.

"Can they see us?" Mara asked.

"No. You see, only force sensitive people can see ghosts. However, the ghost has to be force sensitive, too. So no one is going to see you three girls. However, you can still scare people by moving objects around." Obi-Wan explained. Obi-Wan took them to a local bar to scare the life out of the scum they could find there. The bartender was cleaning mugs when he heard the drink fossit started from behind him. Without turning around he said,

"Hey! Hey! Ain't no one allowed to touch the fossits but me! Whoever's running it better run for it!"

"No one turned it on, Biz. It's running by itself!" A customer replied. The bartender spun around to see the fossit turning off and on. Anakin and Obi-Wan giggled as they turned the fossits on and off. All the guys in the bar stared at it with confusion. Younger Anakin grabbed a nearby glass and smashed it against the opposite wall turning everyone's attention to the wall. Then Padme and Mara wrote GET OUT on the wall with their lipstick. Everyone in the bar ran out with fear as the gang fell over on the ground laughing beyond their control. They walked out of the bar still giggling at the prank they pulled. Mara was enjoying this, but she really wanted to check in on her family.

"Obi-Wan? Do you think we can go visit my friends and family?" She asked.

"Alright, fine. Anakin you lead the way." Obi-Wan replied.

They all went to this secret facility in the middle of town. Older Anakin and Obi-Wan waited outside, as they might be distracting if they were spotted. Shmi, Padme, and Mara walked into the building looking for their relatives. Younger Anakin could come along, too, but he had to stay outside the door hidden in a large, dark coat. He could look through a crack in the door. They finally found the room which they could hear Luke and Ben talking.

"I hunted down Lumiya, and killed her. Her blood is on my hands as Mara's was on hers." Luke said almost proud.

"Dad, I have something to tell you. It's going to be hard to hear, but you have to know." Ben said.

Mara shook her head as she whispered loudly, "Lumiya didn't kill me!"

"Dad, Lumiya didn't kill Mom. She was with me at the time of Mom's death." Ben said as he bowed his head not wanting to see his father's reaction. Luke shook his head in disbelief as tears filled his eyes.

"Oh, I killed a woman in spite of crime she didn't commit!" He said as he filled his hands with his head. Mara felt a tear drop from her own eyes. Padme put a hand on her daughter-in-law's shoulder for comfort. Ben walked over to his father to comfort him.

"Dad, don't feel so bad. Lumiya's death was necessary. You've benefited the entire galaxy. Please, Dad. Save those tears for Mom." Ben said to his dad. Luke's eyes dried up a bit as he listened to his son. He still wasn't happy about what he did to Lumiya, but he felt less guilty.

"You know," Luke began, "I've dealt with a lot of tragedy in my life, but the blows never get any softer. The last time a death like this has happened was, well, 13 years ago, when your cousin, Anakin, died."

"I wish I could've known him." Ben said softly. Luke put his hand on his son's shoulder.

"You would've loved him." Luke said.

On the other side of the door, Anakin Solo listened to their conversation. He too felt a tear drop down his face. Inside, Mara, Padme and Shmi watched this touching moment between a father and his son.

"C'mon let's go. The boys are waiting." Mara said to her friends as they turned to leave. She took one last glance back to see her husband and son.

As they left the building, they met up with Anakin and Obi-Wan in the front.

"Hey, how did it go?" Anakin said.

"It was a real soap opera moment. You probably wouldn't have liked it." Padme said still wiping little tears from her eyes.

"Well, if we're done here, can we go back to our fun now? I've got a package full of stink bombs waiting to explode." Obi-Wan said. They laughed for a moment and got back in the speeder. Obi-Wan pulled up in front of this fancy country club.

"Oh, I know these places. The people here are so uptight and snobby. They'd have you arrested for planting a stink bomb!" Padme said.

"Sweetie, chill. How could they arrest a gang of ghosts?" her husband said. They went in through the front and headed straight for the restrooms. They waited until a man walked up to the men's room. As he opened the door, Anakin through a stink bomb in there before the door closed again. The whole group held the breath until the man shouted,

"MOTHER OF HAPES! WHAT IS THAT DASTARDLY ODOR?!!!"

As the whole group burst into another fit of laughter, something clicked in Mara's head: Mother of Hapes. Tenel Ka! She had always wanted to know the father of Allana, Tenel's baby girl, but never got the chance to find out. Now she might be able to spy on them and get an answer!

"Guys! We have to go to Hapes!" She said out of the blue. Everyone else just stared at her like she was crazy.

"Why the heck do you want to go there?" Padme asked.

"I'll tell you in the speeder. Let's go." Mara said in a rush as she ran back to the speeder. As they took off, Padme asked,

"So…Why exactly do you HAVE to go to Hapes?"

"Well, you see, the Queen Mother, Tenel Ka, has a daughter named Allana. For some reason, she won't let us see her or tell us who her father is. Now that she can't see us, I can find out." Mara explained

When the got to the Castle of the Queen Mother, they snuck in through the back, because Tenel was force-sensitive. She would see the Anakins and Obi-Wan. They found Allana and a handmaiden in the royal kitchen. Allana was playing with a stuffed Tauntaun, and the handmaiden was fixing her lunch.

"Allana, do you want nerfmilk with your lunch?" the handmaiden asked.

"Yes, pwease." The sweet little girl answered. She held that stuffed animal closely.

"Allana, dear, don't you think you should put that Tauntaun down when you eat?" the handmaiden advised.

"No, and his name is Jacen." The girl replied stubbornly. Mara's eyes widened in interest. She hoped this Tauntaun issue would continue.

"Oh and why did you give that name?" the handmaiden asked.

"So even when he's not here, I can still talk to Daddy." Allana replied. Mara jumped up in excitement.

"YES! I finally know her daddy! And his name is….Jacen?!" Mara stopped for a moment, and the shock really set in.

"Oh my god! Jacen is Allana's father! No wonder Tenel Ka never showed her to us! And the whole time we just thought she was ugly!" Mara shouted.

"Mara, are you saying we're GREAT grandparents?" Padme asked pointing to herself and Anakin.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Mara replied.

Before leaving back to the realm of the dead, Mara still wanted to check up on one more person. The Queen Mother herself, Tenel Ka Djo. They snuck up to the balcony where Tenel stood by herself. She looked like she was waiting for something…or someone. They hid behind the door and cracked it slightly open. Suddenly, a Jedi speeder sped by and stopped in front of the balcony. Out from the cockpit jumped out Jacen Solo, Tenel's secret lover. This brought back memories to Anakin and Padme.

"What's going on?" Anakin Solo asked whispering.

"Well, from my experience, I'll say he's here for his monthly visit in their forbidden relationship." Padme replied.

"Jacen! I heard your aunt was murdered! I thought whoever did it would want to come after you, too!" Tenel said embracing Jacen.

"I'm alright. I just came back to make sure you and Allana were safe." Jacen comforted her.

"Wow, déjà vu. Isn't it Anakin?" Padme said with a smug grin.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Anakin said. Suddenly Tenel and Jacen looked at the door.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Jacen shouted.

"Crud. He heard you, run!" Padme said as they rushed down the stairs. Jacen was chasing after them! As they ran out the front door, Obi-Wan and Anakin grabbed the group and force jumped onto the roof of the entrance. Jacen walked out to see nothing. No trace of anyone could be found. He went back into the house to be with Tenel Ka.

"Phew! That was a close one!" Shmi said relieved.

"Hey, where's Mara?" Padme asked.

"What? She was right here!" Anakin said.

"Hey! I had two stink bombs in my bag and now's there's only one. What happened?" Obi-Wan pointed out. Suddenly they heard shouts from inside.

"EEWW! Jacen! What did you eat?!" Tenel shouted from inside.

"It wasn't me! I swear!" Jacen shouted back. Then Mara walked out of the castle with a smile.

"C'mon guys. Let's go home." She said.


	6. Chapter 6 Naberrie Retreats

A/N: This might be a shock to some, but this is my final chapter. The reason is simple; I'm all out of ideas! Mara's seen the past, the rest have seen the present, and they've had a little fun along the way. It took me a week to finally think of one idea of what they could do that can be described as conclusive. So please enjoy the final chapter.

Mara was still thinking about Allana all the way home. She always suspected Jacen knew the father. Apparently he knew the guy better than anyone else. No wonder Tenel Ka kept her away from people; the resemblance was so obvious. She laughed at the idea that her living family back home still suspects the little girl is blemished. Then, one thought struck her, that little girl's parents are both force-sensitive. Did she see anyone she wasn't supposed to?

Meanwhile, at the Hapan Castle, Tenel and Jacen were worried that someone knew about them.

"Jacen, whoever it was, they could expose Allana's paternity in tabloids or the Holonet!" Tenel paced back and forth.

"Darling, please calm down. If it shows up in the Holonet, we shall quickly dispose it as a rumor." Jacen said calmly.

"What if they manage to get proof?" Tenel said still worried.

"Then, I'll track them down. When I find him, there will be no proof." Jacen said in a way that was sort of dark. Then, Allana walked into the room.

"Mommy, Daddy, when are the funny glowing people coming back?" She asked in a cute way. Tenel and Jacen stared at each other in a weird way.

Back at the Skywalkers' place, the family sat around going about their normal business. Shmi was cooking, the Anakins were watching the Holonet, and Padme and Mara were reading magazines. Suddenly, the holophone began to ring. Padme quickly rushed to pick it up.

"Hello? Hi, Mom. Everything's fine. Yes, we've just been out and about recently. Oh, yeah, we have a new tenant. Her name is Mara Jade, she's Luke's wife. Now Mom, you know no one really likes to talk about that. Sure, we'd love to come over. Alright, we'll be there this evening. Bye." Padme hung up the phone.

"You know, I've never heard about your mom. I haven't seen her either." Mara commented. Padme got a look like she finally remembered something. She ran upstairs to get something. When she came back down, she turned on the DVD player.

"I don't remember seeing her in the movie." Mara said. Padme didn't respond. She simply pulled out the second disk in the Attack of the Clones case and placed it in. On the screen came on something different than before. She went to the deleted scenes menu, pushed play on one of the scenes, and sat down. The scene played Anakin and Padme visiting her family. She saw her mother, her father, sister, and Padme's two little nieces.

After the scene was done, she put the movie back and went to the restroom to brush her hair.

"C'mon people. Let's get ready! They're expecting us in an hour!"

They all took the bus to the Naberrie Retreats. It was a very elegant building, as far as Mara just saw, these were elegant people. They walked in to two young women, and two young men. Mara remembered the youth rule, so one of these couples was Padme's parents, and the other was her sister and brother in law. Then one of the men walked up to her.

"Welcome, you must be Mara. It's so nice to meet you." The young man said. Mara quickly tried to guess who this was, but didn't want to wait to long to respond.

"Thank you. You must be Padme's…brother in law?" She guessed.

"No, I'm her father." The young man giggled. Mara felt like she just made a fool out of herself.

"It's alright. It's easy to get mixed up. Jobal got mixed up once." Ruwee joked. Then Jobal, Sola, and Darred introduced themselves as well. They all sat down, and had a nice dinner.

"So Padme, you'll never believe what I found out." Sola said. Padme looked up at her sister.

"I was reading some old newspapers from 2BBY, and it turns out Leia and Pooja are familiar with each other." Sola said. Padme eyes grew with shock

"No! Really?!" She exclaimed.

"Indeed, it turns out they knew each other in the Senate. They just don't know they're cousins." Jobal explained. In the middle of dinner, Mara said out of the blue,

"I'm surprised no one has asked me how I got here." Mara said without any despair. The whole table got quiet.

"Well, we didn't want to trouble you, Mara." Ruwee said.

"But, if you're comfortable with it. We're all ears." Jobal said sounding interested.

"Well, in a nutshell, I was poisoned. Yes, there are a lot of out to get you when you're a Jedi." She said. Padme understood how she didn't want to break it to her folks that their great-grandson killed her.

Throughout the dinner, Mara didn't talk much. She answered a question every now and then, but remained quiet most of the time. She watched as Padme interacted with her parents. It made Mara think about her parents. She never knew them. She knew nothing about the Jade heritage.

After dinner, they family went back to their place and went to bed. Mara couldn't sleep all night. For the first time, she wondered about her real parents. The Emperor took her away when she was a baby, so her earliest memory was of him. He had told her that her family abandoned her, but she knew he was most likely lying. Where were they?

The next morning, Padme woke up to find Mara's bed empty and already made. She figured she was downstairs already. She went down to get some breakfast. As she sat down Shmi asked her,

"Padme, do you mid waking up Mara? She shouldn't sleep in if she wants a breakfast that isn't cold."

Padme froze in her seat.

"She hasn't come down already?" Padme asked. Everyone stopped in their tracks.

"No, we haven't seen her all morning." Anakin said.

"She wasn't in her bed when I got up!" Padme said worried. They each started looking around the house for her. She was nowhere to be found.

"Something bad might have happened to her." Padme said.

"Maybe Palpatine kidnapped her as revenge for the TPing incident." Anakin guessed. They all searched through the entire neighborhood. They split up and searched through each neighborhood. Padme walked for what seemed like miles before she finally saw a red-headed figure in the distance. She ran up to it, and she realized it was Mara Jade. She ran up to her.

"There you are! You gave us such a scare. We thought you had..." She stopped when she realized what Mara Jade was staring at. It was the Jade Retreats.

"You found your parents?" Padme thought Mara discovered, but Mara bowed and shook her head. She grabbed Padme's hand and led her inside.

Padme walked in to an empty lobby. Then, they passed an empty kitchen, and walked through a bunch of empty hallways with empty suites.

"I don't understand. Why aren't your parents here?" Padme asked.

"Apparently," Mara finally spoke, "They're not dead yet."

Padme realized that must be the cause. She saw a tear run down Mara's eyes. She put her hand on her shoulder.

"I thought that, maybe, I could see my parents, and I would feel like somebody's daughter." Mara said wiping away her tear. Padme hugged her tightly.

"You are somebody's daughter," Padme assured her, "I never got to meet my real daughter, but as I spent more time with you, I really saw the Skywalker in you. You are like a daughter to _me._" Her words really touched Mara's heart. She'd spent her entire life without a mother. Now, she never felt more at home than when she was with Padme.

"C'mon, let's go home, Mom." Mara said. Padme smiled as they walked out of the empty house.

"You know, there's one thing that bothers me, Mara."

"What's that?"

"The fact that you actually thought a descendant of mine would be ugly!"


End file.
